


A Pair of Ducks

by pinoak



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, SCP Foundation
Genre: Accidental Love Confessions, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, He may be a skilled professor but don't let that fool you, Jack is completely oblivious to his own feelings, M/M, Patronuses, a snippet of the harry potter au absolutely nobody asked for, he is dumb of ass, idiots to lovers, nothing but some pure self-indulgent fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:22:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23473168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinoak/pseuds/pinoak
Summary: Jack Bright had always been something of an enigma. From the very first time he successfully cast a Patronus Charm, its form changed on a near-daily basis – hell, sometimes it switched in a matter of hours.It had almost become a game to him at this point – seeing what animal he’d get each day....A game that was quickly losing its appeal with each and every godforsaken duck.
Relationships: Jack Bright/Dr. Simon Glass
Comments: 13
Kudos: 54





	A Pair of Ducks

Jack Bright cleared his mind, letting out a long exhale and rolling his shoulders. He opened his eyes, focused solely on his memories, and drew another slow, deliberate breath.

 _Breathe in. Breathe out_.

Bright flexed his fingers around his wand as he readied himself.

 _“Expecto Patronum_!”

Wisps of silvery light danced through the air, delicate like smoke, swirling higher and higher until finally, it began to take a definite shape…

…And, once again, Jack Bright was met with the image of a shimmering duck, swimming mid-air.

Bright only shoved his wand back into the inner pocket of his cloak, groaning in frustration as he watched the bird slowly evaporate back into nothing.

 _Day five._ _  
Still a duck._

Honestly, this was getting ridiculous.

Jack Bright had always been something of an enigma. From the very first time he successfully cast a Patronus charm, its form changed on a near-daily basis – hell, sometimes it switched in a matter of _hours_.

It had almost become a game to him at this point – seeing what animal he’d get each day.

A game that was _quickly_ losing its appeal with each and every _godforsaken duck_.

What the hell did this even _mean_?

Jack couldn’t help but get that sinking feeling in his gut that maybe this was the time it just _stopped_ changing… That, maybe, it was about to be _stuck like this forever_.

A duck.

After years and years of conjuring up every fantastic and mystical creature under the sun, his Patronus was going to lock itself in as a _duck_.

The anthropomorphic representation of his very _soul_ –

_And it was a goddamn duck?!_

No.

Be rational here, Bright.

It was going to change. It always changes.

_…What changed_?

Day six… Day seven… Day eight…

Jack was about to lose his damn mind.

He exhaled another slow breath, focusing himself much like he always did. This time it was going to be different – he could feel it.

 _Come on_ … Be a lion… Be a hawk… Be a goddamn _platypus_ for all he cared! Just _please_ , for the love of _god_ , don’t be…

 _Another duck_.

“Oh, for _fuck’s sake_!” Jack exclaimed loudly, momentarily forgetting the fact that he was overseeing detention, and drawing surprised glances from the two third-year Ravenclaw girls who had been sitting silently in the front of his classroom. “ _Sorry_ – I’m sorry, just… just ignore that,” Bright rambled. “I’ll tell you what – don’t mention this to Gears and I’ll let the both of you out early.”

The two teens glanced at each other before nodding and gathering their things, leaving Jack to sulk alone in his classroom.

Bright glared up at the silver duck – still happily paddling through the air with those stupid little webbed feet – and he glared at it in absolute contempt.

“ _I hate you_ ,” he muttered, tucking his wand away once more and watching it fade.

_No, Jack, come on, you’re being ridiculous… This is fine. This means nothing. Just… Maybe stop thinking about it for a few days and it will go away?_

_Yeah… Give it a little break… Don’t make a big deal over this_.

And Jack tried – he really, honestly, tried.

But, on day twelve of this waterfowl-induced _hell_ , he’d decidedly had enough – and he was getting _desperate_.

If anyone would know anything about how to fix his Patronus, it would be Rights. She was the Charms professor, after all – and the Patronus _charm_ was… well, it’s in the _name of the spell_ , she’d _have_ to know how to fix this!

“Agatha, I’ve got a–”

Jack knocked on the door to her office, opening it just in time to watch Rights quickly try to toss a bedsheet over what appeared to be a large birdcage.

“–question…?”

“Jack!” she exclaimed in surprise. There was an overtly fake, nervous smile plastered on her face as she tried to nonchalantly set a container filled with live crickets on the desk behind her. “What is it? What do you need?”

“What, uh… Whatcha got there…?”

“Oh, that? That’s nothing! Don’t worry about him– _it!_ Don’t worry about _it!”_

“Uh… Huh…” Jack nodded slowly, listening to the quiet chattering and fluttering noises that rattled beneath the blanket.

“What’s your question, Jack?” Agatha repeated, putting herself between Jack’s line of sight and the birdcage in an attempt to block it the best her five-foot-one body would allow.

“It’s about the Patronus Charm,” Jack said. “Mine… In particular.”

“What about yours?”

“I think it’s broken.”

“Your Patronus has been screwy since day one, and _now_ you start to notice something’s off?”

“No, I mean it’s _really_ broken.”

Rights let her shoulders slump back down to a more neutral position, her nervous expression quickly melting into one of frustrated confusion.

“Jack,” she began. “What the _hell_ does that mean?”

“It means what it means, Agatha!” Jack exclaimed desperately. “It’s _broken_! It’s _stuck_! It’s been the same damn thing for twelve days now, and it’s driving me _insane_!”

“Bright, I hate to break it to you, but that’s how Patronuses _normally work_. What _isn’t_ normal is yours changing every day for… _god_ , who even _knows_ how long!”

“Yes, _normally!_ But, Agatha, that was _normal_ for _me_!” Jack elaborated. “But _this?!_ This isn’t right!”

“I mean, it isn’t unheard of,” Rights said. “Not extremely common, but not unheard of. Patronuses can change sometimes… or, in your case, _stop_.”

_So… was that really the answer?  
He was stuck with this?_

Jack couldn’t help but feel his heart sink.

“Well, couldn’t it have _stopped_ on something a little _better_?!” he exclaimed in exasperation.

“So, _that’s_ what this is about, then? You don’t like your Patronus?” Rights asked, arching a brow in curiosity. “What’d you get?”

“Agatha…”

“Jack, _honestly_ ,” she said. “How _bad_ could it be? A naked mole-rat? An eel? Giant slug?”

Bright let his shoulders slump with each of her guesses before finally, he’d decided he’d had enough.

“It’s a duck, alright?” he admitted in defeat. “It’s a _goddamn duck_ …”

There was a long moment where Rights said nothing. And, as if Jack wasn’t already confused to _absolute hell_ , this was not adding much certainty to anything.

“Rights? What are you–?”

“Jack, I think this is something you should take up with Glass,” she said suddenly.

“ _Simon_?” Jack asked in confusion. “Why? What the hell could he possibly–?”

“Well, when Patronuses change there’s usually an, um… _emotional component_ to it… and he’s much better at handling this mushy ‘ _feelings’_ garbage than I am, so–”

“Agatha, I–?”

“Bright, _really_ ,” Rights cut him off again. “I really think this is something you need to work out with Glass.”

Jack groaned in irritation, wishing Rights would just give him a straight answer instead of passing him along in some sort of wild goose chase… or, he supposed, _duck_ _chase_ may be a better way to phrase it…

…However, if the faint smell of smoke was any indicator, Agatha was about to have her hands full anyway.

“Alright. Glass. Got it,” Jack said as he turned to leave. He paused in the doorway, spinning on his heel and adding a quick, “Oh, and by the way, your blanket is on fire.”

Rights jumped in surprise, looking back to see the beginnings of a nice hole being charred into the fabric. Jack closed the door just in time to hear the exasperated shouts of “ _Pterri_! No, no, no! _Bad dragon_!”

Bright would’ve found more amusement in this, had it not been for his current situation… and the fact that now he apparently had to _hike_ to Simon’s classroom.

The trek to the north tower was… _exhausting_ , to say the very least. Bright couldn’t help but wonder how Glass managed to do this every single day without complaint, because by the time Jack managed to reach the top of the stairwell, he felt like he’d just ran a marathon.

His heart was still pounding in his chest as he knocked lightly on the doorframe to Simon’s classroom, drawing the attention of the divination professor, who had been busy grading papers.

“Jack?”

“Glass. You have a minute?”

Simon neatened the stack of papers as he looked up to Jack with that familiar expression of concern etched onto his face.

“Yes, I do,” he replied softly. “What’s bothering you?”

“What? Nothing’s bothering me, it’s just…” he trailed off as Simon folded his hands back on his desk, staring at Bright with unimpressed disbelief. “…You’re reading my emotions, aren’t you?”

“No. I’m not,” Simon replied simply. “It doesn’t take an empath to know when you’re lying.”

“That bad, huh?”

“Sit.”

Jack sighed, leaning back against the table that was directly in front of Simon’s desk.

“Now,” he began. “Care to tell me what’s wrong?”

“Look, I dunno, Rights told me to come talk to you about this, but I’m not really sure what she expects you to do.”

“Do about what?”

Jack sighed.

“How much do you know about Patronuses, Simon?”

“Enough, I suppose,” Glass replied, standing from his desk and circling around to the front to put himself closer to Bright. “I’d say I’m fairly competent. Why?”

“You know how mine always changes?”

Glass knit his brows in confusion. “Yes, and I’m… afraid I can’t help you too much on that. I’ve never heard of one switching as frequently and inexplicably as yours… Perhaps it has something to do with your status as a metamorphmagus–?”

“It stopped.”

“Pardon?” Glass paused in thought for a moment. “ _Stopped_?” he asked. “You mean as _in stopped changing_ or _stopped being able to be produced at all?_ ”

“Stopped changing,” Bright replied. “Been twelve days now. Same thing. Every single time…”

Simon had gone quiet again, blowing out an exhale and frowning in thought.

“Well… I’m not really certain _what_ to tell you, Jack,” he said finally. “Perhaps it’s just a random occurrence? If it always _changed_ at random, I suppose it could _stop_ at random as well?”

 _No idea. He also had no idea.  
_ _Wonderful._

“Jack, Patronuses have been known to change from time to time,” Glass spoke up once more, clearly still trying to put Jack’s mind at ease. “Yes, it’s not a particularly common event, but it isn’t exactly _rare_ either.”

“So, I take it yours has changed before?”

“No,” Glass replied. “ _But,_ I do know of several people who–”

Jack inwardly groaned, still trying to figure out just _how and why_ she thought talking to Simon would solve anything.

Glass cut his previous statement short, frowning and looking to Jack. “You’re frustrated.”

“That an observation?” Jack asked. “Or you reading my emotions again?”

“Both,” Simon replied softly.

Jack sighed. “Yeah, Simon, I’m frustrated,” he said. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, _you_ don’t know what the hell is going on, _nobody_ seems to know what the hell is going on – except for Rights, who refuses to tell me a damn thing other than that I needed to talk to you.”

Glass had paused in thought again, and Jack could see him trying to wrap his head around this.

 _And, honestly, bless his heart_.

Jack knew that, had he been having this conversation with anybody else, they would’ve already shuffled him along to the next person, but Glass – whether he actually knew a damn thing or not – he was clearly _trying_.

“Well…” Simon said finally. “What I do know on the matter is this: ordinarily, when a Patronus changes forms, it is typically brought about by a significant change in one’s emotional or mental state.”

“I should be able to tell if I’ve had something _life-altering_ happen to me, shouldn’t I?”

“I mean… one would _think_?”

Jack sighed and shook his head.

“Why can’t this just be simple?”

“Jack, when has anything about you _ever_ been simple?” Glass remarked lightly.

Jack exhaled in a short laugh, and he could see the corners of Simon’s mouth twitch to a little smile. One that made him scrunch up his eyes for a split second. One that Bright couldn’t help but mirror as well.

“Suppose you’ve got a point there,” Jack replied.

There was a beat of silence where Glass could only look at him with curiosity, and Jack knew what question was coming.

“So,” Simon began, tilting his head. “What exactly _is_ your Patronus?”

 _Yep… He called it_.

Jack let his shoulders slump with a sigh of defeat.

“Promise you won’t laugh?”

“Cross my heart.”

“Alright…” Jack said, sighing once more and drawing his wand from his cloak. “You _promise_?”

“Jack,” Simon groaned, however, the smile tugging at his lips broke the illusion of irritation. “I promise.”

Closing his eyes, and focusing on his memories, Jack cast the spell, much like he had countless times already that week. There was some part of him that hoped maybe he’d prove himself wrong, and when he’d open his eyes, he’d be looking at a new, unfamiliar animal…

…But the result was still the same.

 _Duck_.

“Well…” Jack said, staring up at his Patronus. “There you have it.”

It took about four seconds before Jack realized Simon had still yet to say anything, and when he looked down to Glass, he couldn’t help but feel even more confused.

Glass had a funny sort of expression on his face – one that Jack couldn’t quite decipher. His eyes were fixed on the duck and he half-opened his mouth for a brief second, only to shut it wordlessly.

“Simon?” Jack asked in confusion. “What are we seeing?”

“No, I’m… I’m here,” Glass replied, his voice still sounding somewhat distant.

“You don’t sound very here.”

“No, I’m just… just thinking…”

And Jack had _just_ about _had it._

_What was it about this stupid duck that apparently had everybody freaking out?!_

“Are you going to _tell me_ what you’re thinking?”

“I’m… I don’t know.”

“Don’t know if you’re going to tell me or don’t know what you’re thinking?” Jack asked, frustration once again rising in his voice.

Simon blinked and finally looked down from the silvery bird, meeting Jack’s eyes with an expression that he _still_ couldn’t quite place.

“I don’t know,” he repeated.

“No, you _clearly_ know _something_ ,” Jack stated, this game that his coworkers seemed to be playing was getting really old really fast. “You and Rights _obviously_ know _something_ – you wouldn’t react that way if you didn’t! Just– can somebody _please_ just give me a straight answer here?!”

“Jack, well… It’s…” Simon started and stopped a few failed sentences before he finally found the words he was looking for. “Look, sometimes emotions… strong feelings, they… they can lead to changes in one’s Patronus. It can happen for a number of reasons, really. If you suffer a significant loss, in periods of strong mourning… If there is a drastic change to one’s personality… If you…” he trailed off again.

“But that’s the thing, Simon, I’m _not_ in _mourning_! I haven’t had some sort of life-changing blow to my personality!”

“As– as I said, that isn’t the _only_ reason,” Simon continued, still stumbling slightly over his wording. “It’s… Jack, there’s a _number_ of strong emotions that can–”

“Then enlighten me, Glass,” Jack hissed. “What _strong emotion_ is associated with a goddamn _duck_?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that…”

“Then why are you acting like this?” Jack asked in exasperation. “Is– is this some sort of _omen_?!”

“N-no, it isn’t an omen, it’s just–”

“It’s _just_ what?! Rights was acting weird. You’re acting weird. Will _somebody_ please just tell me what is so significant about this _stupid fucking duck_?!”

Glass only sighed, closing his eyes and taking in a long, deep breath through his nose as he drew his wand.

And, with a gentle swish, Bright watched as tendrils of delicate, silvery light swirled through the air – twisting and twirling, until, all too familiarly, it took shape.

_Oh…_

A second duck swam through the air, meeting the first, and circling it in perfect synchronicity – as if partners in some ethereal dance.

“I… I don’t understand…”

“…If you experience strong emotional upheaval – profound grief, guilt, remorse…” Simon trailed off again before finishing in a voice that was barely audible. “… _love._ ”

Jack’s mind was reeling, and there was a long moment where he could say nothing. All he could do was watch as the two birds continued to mirror one another.

_No, that… that wasn’t it… it couldn’t… he wasn’t–_

The realization hit him so hard that it felt like a physical blow to the chest.

It was no secret that, in order to even conjure a Patronus, you needed to focus solely on memories – good, _happy_ memories. And Jack, despite his many long, immortal years, did not have too many of those…

But, as of recently, the usable memories he _did_ have all seemed to contain one common element…

 _Simon Glass_.

Oh, _fuck_.

Jack didn’t know whether to feel stupid or blind or _both_.

How did he not _see_ this? How did he not _realize_ this?

_Love._

_He was falling in love_.

Jack had spent so long purposely trying to avoid these feelings, that somehow it hadn’t even _registered_ to him that he was falling _hopelessly fucking in love_.

It occurred to Jack that he had still said nothing, but his mind was racing with so many thoughts that Bright wasn’t even certain he could form a single word at the moment.

_Because how the hell does someone not realize that they are in love?!_

And _Jack_ –

He just _had_ to be the idiot to show up here and ask why the _literal projection of his soul_ just _happened_ to have changed to perfectly mirror his?!

_How the fuck was he supposed to know his Patronus was a duck?!_

Was _this_ the reason why Rights wanted him to talk to Glass so badly? Could she _maybe_ have just given him a little _heads-up_ beforehand?

 _Hey, Jack, just so you know, that’s literally Simon’s exact Patronus, so maybe you should think the implications of that over before you waltz on in there and unknowingly profess your love to him like a complete dumb-ass_?!

Jack once again remembered that he _still_ hadn’t said anything. He was certain that his emotions were an absolute rollercoaster at this point, and he had no doubt that Simon had to be picking up on that as well, seeing as the poor guy looked like he was about ready to be sick…

_Great… Now you’re fucking hurting him! Nice going, Bright!_

“O-or! Or it could be a number of other things!” Simon interjected suddenly, breaking the silence with panic evident in his blue eyes. “Maybe… maybe it’s just random? I- I wasn’t trying to suggest–”

Jack wordlessly opened his mouth before a heavy feeling of anxiety settled in his stomach and he was hit with another thought.

_Did Simon even feel the same way?_

His Patronus _never changed_ – he said it _himself_! Did Jack just manage to ruin _absolutely everything_ with one fucking spell?

“Jack…?”

The next time Bright lamely opened his mouth, he managed to finally speak.

“I… I should probably…” he began shakenly, pointing back over his shoulder at the door. “I should probably go…”

Jack didn’t even bother looking for Simon’s reaction, he turned, ready to quickly make his exit before he could manage to embarrass himself in front of Glass any more than he already had.

He’d almost made it to the door too when someone caught him by the wrist.

“Jack, _wait_!”

“Simon, I– I’m sorry! I–”

Bright never got to finish that statement, and, to be quite honest, he couldn’t even remember _where_ he was going with it in the first place.

Not after Glass met his lips in a soft kiss.

It was gentle, but behind it, Jack could feel the obvious, desperate, _longing_ – especially as he felt Simon’s fingers tangle in his hair.

As Simon broke away with a quiet gasp for breath, his blue eyes found Jack’s with another sharp twinge of panic.

“Is– was this okay? I probably should’ve asked first– I don’t know why I didn’t–”

Bright could only laugh a little.

“Simon, I’m pretty sure my fucking _spirit animal_ just changed into yours,” he remarked. “Believe me. This is okay. This is _very_ okay.”

Jack had a brief moment to see the clear relief wash over Simon’s features before pulling him down by the collar of his sweater and melting into another desperate kiss that was absolutely everything that Jack never knew that he always knew he needed.

Above head, in a beautiful shimmer of silver light, two ducks continued their dance – circling in perfect, unbroken harmony.

**Author's Note:**

> just something happy for these difficult times.
> 
> follow me on tumblr @team-gabriel


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